COMMITMENTS : Popping the Question : Recalling Those Engaging Moments
“We had decided to get married before moving in together. But then plans were lagging. So over dinner one Friday evening, I said, ‘If you don’t plan to get engaged soon, this would be a nice weekend to move out.’ Within 45 minutes we went to the Glendale Galleria and bought a ring.”
--Shelly Mollica, 34, of Montrose; travel agent; married three years
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“Steve and I began going out July 5, 1964. On Aug. 23, we were on my parents’ front porch. It was about 4 a.m. and we’d been out all evening. He got on his knees and said, ‘Will you marry me?’ I said yes right away. He said, ‘You don’t want to think about it?’ ”
--Iris Waskow, 52, of Santa Monica; director of marketing, Good Samaritan Hospital; married 30 years
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“A friend of a friend worked for Dick Clark Productions and was putting together the television show, ‘Will You Marry Me?’ They needed six surprise proposals (to film). I set up a mock karaoke contest at the Media City Center. My girlfriend gets up in front of 50 people and picks a card telling her what song to sing. Every card was ‘When I Fall in Love,’ my favorite.
“She was told to watch the video monitor. There was a couple walking on the beach. Someone wrote in stick writing in the sand, ‘I Love You, Kelly.’ Then there’s a wide shot of the guy writing in the sand--me. I popped out from backstage, held both her hands and said, ‘Kelly Irene Miller, I love you madly. Will you marry me?’ ”
--Johnny Angel, 29, Studio City; vice president, Jones & O’Malley, Toluca Lake public relations firm; married four months
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“I knew I wanted to marry Debbie before she knew she wanted to marry me. We had been seeing each other exclusively for about six months. I began to talk about marriage. And to my surprise she said, ‘Maybe what we should do is call it quits.’
“I remember trying to talk her into it. She was backing up and backing up. I talked to one of her friends who said, ‘You can’t make her . . . ‘ At least a month later she started talking about the wedding, who to invite, where to have it. And I said, ‘Wait a minute, you haven’t said yes. Will you marry me?’ And she said, ‘Yes, I will.’ ”
--Rholan Wong, 44, of West Los Angeles; director of communications for Goodwill Industries; married eight years